S8/Ep. 01 - Breathe, Move, Learn
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Season eight of the Exploring Boys’ Education Podcast opens with a conversation on boys, focus, and the body. Laura Ambrogi (St. Christopher's School, United States) and Mugsy Quinn (St. Stithians Boys' Preparatory School, South Africa), winners of the 2026 IBSC Action Research Award, discuss the classroom tools they built to help boys regulate their emotions and refocus.
Both researchers noticed the same pattern: boys labeled as behavior problems were often struggling to regulate emotion, not misbehaving. Ambrogi’s proprioceptive exercises and Quinn’s breathwork card game both work the body first, calming an activated nervous system so the “thinking brain” can re-engage. In both projects, the real turning point came when boys were given ownership of the techniques, choosing, leading, and teaching them to each other.
IBSC members can access Ambrogi's report, Quinn's report, and the entire collection of 2025-26 Action Research reports now.
Applications for the 2027-28 IBSC Action Research Program, on the theme “Building Community: Boys as Readers, Thinkers, Innovators, and Contributors,” are open now and close November 1, 2026.
New episodes of the IBSC Exploring Boys' Education podcast are available exclusively to IBSC members on the IBSC website for the first two weeks. Afterward anyone may access them from all popular podcast platforms. We encourage you to share this resource across and beyond your school community!
Listen on your favorite podcast app.
IBSC Exploring Boys’ Education music composed by Tom DiGiovanni.
Both researchers noticed the same pattern: boys labeled as behavior problems were often struggling to regulate emotion, not misbehaving. Ambrogi’s proprioceptive exercises and Quinn’s breathwork card game both work the body first, calming an activated nervous system so the “thinking brain” can re-engage. In both projects, the real turning point came when boys were given ownership of the techniques, choosing, leading, and teaching them to each other.
IBSC members can access Ambrogi's report, Quinn's report, and the entire collection of 2025-26 Action Research reports now.
Applications for the 2027-28 IBSC Action Research Program, on the theme “Building Community: Boys as Readers, Thinkers, Innovators, and Contributors,” are open now and close November 1, 2026.
New episodes of the IBSC Exploring Boys' Education podcast are available exclusively to IBSC members on the IBSC website for the first two weeks. Afterward anyone may access them from all popular podcast platforms. We encourage you to share this resource across and beyond your school community!
Listen on your favorite podcast app.
IBSC Exploring Boys’ Education music composed by Tom DiGiovanni.
